So after a long wait my set of Red Raven Speed View goggles has finally arrived!

I’ve been looking forward to getting my hands on these uber trick goggles for ages. I mean come on – remote activation of the role-off system, how cool is that! So when the package arrived from www.redravenracing.com I was excited to see if they were going to live up to the hype.

What are they exactly? Well these are apparently the ONLY goggles that have a remote switching, auto roll film system. Also note worthy is the fact that the ‘viewing window’ cleaned by the film is a lot bigger than anything else on the market, (that I’ve seen).

Yes they are roll-off goggles but with many differences that make them stand out form the crowd. First and lets face it, the most interesting feature is the fact that they have an electric motor that drives the winding action of the roll off system. Not only that but the activation is done by a wirelessly - controlled by a button on the handlebars - trick or what?! As already mentioned is the fact that the area cleared by the film is a lot larger than other systems I've used and seen. The film runs underneath the top cover so hopefully it'll be less likely to be effected by water ingress.

What's in the box?

Basic view of what you get when you open the box.

All out the box and ready to put together.....

First impressions are that it’s a quality bit of kit. The packaging is second to none with the goggles themselves enclosed in a cardboard box and sunken into a foam cut-out with a layer of felt protecting the front lens from the instruction booklet. The remote switch is also held in the foam and the cable curves round to display the activation button when you first open the box.

A disposable lithium battery (to power the film winding motor) and two rolls of film is also supplied in the box, along with a mounting bracket for the remote activation button. Batteries (AAA) for the remote switching unit are not included however.

The instructions appear to be easily understandable and they go on to explain the loading and ‘pairing’ technique required to get the unit operational, as well as the film loading method. Loading the film is the same as other systems and is straight forward. however with theses goggles the whole front of the goggle comes away, not just the two side 'pods'. The film is then run across the front lens and the cover is placed over the top of the whole lot. is clips together and apart easy enough too.

Only one thing to note is the fact that the pouch for the goggle 'receiver' is rather tight. When I was re-inserting the receiver unit back into its small pouch I noticed that the activation button was being constantly pressed due to it being such a tight fit, this switched the unit off. I solved this small hiccup by un-picking the stitching on both elasticated straps on one side. They are stitched in two spots so they are still holing it in place. This relieves the pressure enough to stop the button being activated. I've spoken the the supplier and he informed me that they had noted this and that the pouch soon stretches with a bit of use so if you get the same issue as me you can either stretch it a bit or do the same as me.

Mounting the sending unit was pretty simple as they recommend you cable tie it to the fork legs. The activation button has it's own clamp so it's just as easy to mount that too.

So does it work? Well this weekend I got a chance to find out for myself ay a practice day with enduroland and i must say they were great! No problems at all. They worked all day long and never failed to clear the lens of dirt even when chasing down quads that seemed intent in burying me in muck. a simple press of the button and the film moves across clearing your view. There isn't much more i can add other than they work, end off.

I'll be using them all this year and I'll keep you up to date with the way they cope with differing condition and if they stand up to any knocks (hopefully none!). The only one achilles heel of all roll-off systems is water and sloppy mud/rain. It'll be very interesting to see how they mange that as I've owned two pairs of old style systems in the past and stopped using them for that reason. I'll keep you posted.

Mud be gone!

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